Blueberry Juice bring advice

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I stopped by a local and rather large fruit stand today and low and behold they have juices. They make them thierselves so they are all local or fairly local fruits.

I decided on picking up a half gallon of blueberry juice for $10. Here are the ingredients in order listed

Blueberry juice
Sugar
Citric acid

It is labled as 100% Juice with added ingredients and Pasteurized

Here are my questions

1. How much wine would a half gallon of juice make?
2. Should I heat it since it is already pasteurized?
3. What should the SG be for a good blueberry wine, Think sweet wine.
4. How fast can a company send out a new hydrometer since I just broke mine? ok off the wall frustration question.
5. Should I save some of the juice for a f-pak or wait and use actual berries that I will be getting this comming week?

I think that will do it for now.
 
I would say 1/2 gallon of juice makes half a gallon of wine, but you could make it go farther with some water, but personally I wouldn't go more than a gallon. The more you water it down, the less flavor in your wine.
 
So your saying that if I had the same amount of blueberries that equaled a half gallon of juice you would not add water to them. Just use straight blueberries and no water, is the same as using straight juice and no water. Just trying to clear it up, it confuses me that you wouldn't use any water.
 
What's the gravity? Does the body seem appropriate for wine, or is it too thin or thick?
 
I dont know the SG,,,, read question #4
It looks as if they pressed the fruit and put it in the bottle. It doesn't list water as one of the ingredients, so I take that to mean its not added.
 
many people make wine by diluting and that beind said we usually have to add flavor back (f-pack) but doing it without diluting it could leave you in the high acidity domain so doing it this way without an acid test kit could really be pushing the ability of a yeast.
 
So should I dilute it or go buy another half gallon in order to make a gallon. I will have some blueberries next week that I could make an f-pak with if I did dilute the juice.

Not sure where to go.
 
See, this is why Wade runs the forum, I forgot about acid. Without an acid test kit, straight juice might be too acidic. If you're going to express order a hydrometer, you should add an acid test kit as well. titration kit or at least some pH strips.

I'm almost positive that the SG will be way low as is. I bought some Blueberry-pomegranate juice at the store that was great for drinking, but when I tested the SG it was around 1.05 or so. Definitely measure though.
 
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<looks around> I do feel safe here. Hope the gruel comes soon. I'm hungry. Also, it's hard to itch with the jacket on. <smiles wanly as sedatives kick in>
 
<looks around> I do feel safe here. Hope the gruel comes soon. I'm hungry. Also, it's hard to itch with the jacket on. <smiles wanly as sedatives kick in>

Bwaaa Haaa Haaaa! Acidity is the main reason we dilute most fruit wines down. Typically though, most times we dilute too much hence why acid blend is usually needed in most recipes. I would feel pretty safe saying that turning 1/2 gallon of juice could easily make a 1 gallon batch of wine and most likely not need any adjustments up or down much with acid, if it were 1 gallon making 1 gallon I would say it would probably need some cold stabilizing to bring the acid possibly down. I dont have my acid chart that I used to have that stated approx how much each fruit had and what it was dominant in.
 
Thanks Wade, I have never used and acid test could you recommend an all around good one to get? Is there a set acid level that all wines should be at or is it different for each one depending on what they are made from?
I wanted to start this one today but since I have to wait on a hydrometer then I might as well wait on the acid test kit as well. I will also make a new post for the blueberry log when I start it.
 
This is the one I use and like better then all others but a PH meter is the best investment although a litte pricier.
http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=217-10
As far as an acid level goes almost all wines should fall in the range of .55-.75 and those numbers usually really depend on making the ph of the wine fall into the right range but most unprofessional wine makers usually dont test the ph due to not having the proper equipment and just adjust the acidity. The ph range is really the most important one as this is what makes a wine stable for cellaring so if you have the available funds a ph meter will do a much better job or even using both the test kit above and the ph test lit also.
http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=201-10

Here is the link if you want to buy the complete set that will let you test for all of the above plus Malic acid if you want to do malo lactic fermentation on a red wine and Free S02 test to make sure you are adding enough sulfites or arent over doing the sulfite levels.
http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=FPL
 
Sorry to hear about the hydrometer. But I'm beginning to realize that until you break one, you're not "official"!
I had my first one for eight months and was standing in the kitchen putting it back into the plastic tube, thinking how I had used the same one for eight months as it went thru the bottom of the plastic tube and straight to the tile floor.
That seems like a good price for blueberry juice. The best I've found around here is $32.00 for a can of Vinter's Harvest, or $5.50 for three pounds of frozen berries @ Sam's.
 
I think the only reason it is that price is because they are abundant right now. It is harvest time around here and thier are a ton of blueberry farms. I would imagine that it would go up come late summer to winter time, and that is if you could find it at all around then.
 

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